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US awards huge contract, spurns

The US General Services Administration (GSA) has awarded America’s biggest ever telecommunications contract – a ten year deal worth $48bn – to AT&T, Qwest and Verizon. Sprint Nextel was not chosen.

Each of the winners will split $525m and pitch against one another with different federal agencies for varying contracts.

Each of those government agencies are expected to spend around $20bn on the contract over 10 years.

Dubbed ‘Networx Universal’, the contract has been prepared for over several years, with all four competing companies spending a significant amount of time and money to win a piece of the ten-year-action.

Sprint, which has been providing telecoms services to the US government for almost two decades, said it would request a meeting with the GSA next week.

In a statement the company said: “Sprint is disappointed not to receive a portion of the Networx Universal contract… The Sprint team spent significant time and energy on the program and has made large investments to meet the diverse requirements of the agencies.”

According to the terms of the deal, the GSA will allow each firm to sell voice and and data services to the US’ 135 federal agencies, including the treasury and defence departments.

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